UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
SERIAL NO: 76/626832
APPLICANT: Blackstone Medical, Inc.
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CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS: |
RETURN ADDRESS: Commissioner for Trademarks P.O. Box 1451 Alexandria, VA 22313-1451
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MARK: HALLMARK
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CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: 62189.013900
CORRESPONDENT EMAIL ADDRESS: |
Please provide in all correspondence:
1. Filing date, serial number, mark and applicant's name. 2. Date of this Office Action. 3. Examining Attorney's name and Law Office number. 4. Your telephone number and e-mail address.
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MAILING/E-MAILING DATE INFORMATION: If the mailing or e-mailing date of this Office action does not appear above, this information can be obtained by visiting the USPTO website at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/, inserting the application serial number, and viewing the prosecution history for the mailing date of the most recently issued Office communication.
Serial Number 76/626832
The assigned trademark examining attorney has reviewed the statement of use and has determined the following:
The specimen is not acceptable because it consists of advertising material for goods. Section 45 of the Trademark Act requires use “on the goods or their containers or the displays associated therewith or on tags or labels affixed thereto.” 15 U.S.C. §1127; see 37 C.F.R. §2.56(b)(1); TMEP §904.05.
Material that functions merely to tell prospective purchasers about the goods, or to promote the sale of the goods, is unacceptable to show trademark use. Indeed, invoices, business cards, announcements, price lists, listings in trade directories, order forms, bills of lading, leaflets, brochures, publicity releases, advertising circulars and other printed advertising material, while normally acceptable for showing use in connection with services, generally are not acceptable specimens for showing trademark use in connection with goods. See In re MediaShare Corp., 43 USPQ2d 1304, 1307 (TTAB 1997); In re Schiapparelli Searle, 26 USPQ2d 1520, 1522 (TTAB 1993); TMEP §§904.05 and 904.07.
A statement of use must include a specimen showing the applied-for mark in use in commerce for each class of goods in the statement of use. Trademark Act Sections 1, 2 and 45, 15 U.S.C. §§1051-1052 and 1127; 37 C.F.R. §2.88(b)(2).
Applicant may respond to this refusal by submitting the following:
(1) A substitute specimen showing the mark in use in commerce each class of the goods specified in the statement of use; and
(2) The following statement, verified with an affidavit or signed declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20: “The substitute specimen was in use in commerce prior to the expiration of the time allowed applicant for filing a statement of use.” 37 C.F.R. §2.59(b)(2); TMEP §904.09. If submitting a specimen requires an amendment to the dates of use, applicant must also verify the amended dates. 37 C.F.R. §2.71(c).
Examples of specimens for goods are tags, labels, instruction manuals, containers, photographs that show the mark on the goods or packaging, or displays associated with the goods at their point of sale. TMEP §§904.04 et seq.
Pending a proper response, registration is refused because the specimen does not show the applied-for mark in use in commerce as a trademark. 15 U.S.C. §§1051-1052 and 1127; 37 C.F.R. §§2.56 and 2.88.
Applicant may not withdraw the statement of use. 37 C.F.R. §2.88(g); TMEP §1109.17.
Although the examining attorney has refused registration, the applicant may respond to the refusal to register by submitting evidence and arguments in support of registration.
If the applicant chooses to respond to the refusal to register, the applicant must also respond to the following issue.
The following is a properly worded declaration under 37 C.F.R. §2.20. At the end of the response, the applicant should insert the declaration signed by a person authorized to sign under 37 C.F.R. §2.33(a).
The undersigned, being hereby warned that willful false statements and the like so made are punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under 18 U.S.C. §1001, and that such willful false statements may jeopardize the validity of the application or any resulting registration, declares that the substitute specimen was in use in commerce prior to the expiration of the time allowed to the applicant for filing a statement of use; the facts set forth in this application are true; all statements made of his/her own knowledge are true; and all statements made on information and belief are believed to be true.
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(Signature)
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(Print or Type Name and Position)
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(Date)
/Ira Goodsaid/
Ira Goodsaid
Trademark Examining Attorney
Law Office 101
571-272-9166
HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS OFFICE ACTION:
STATUS OF APPLICATION: To check the status of your application, visit the Office’s Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system at http://tarr.uspto.gov.
VIEW APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ONLINE: Documents in the electronic file for pending applications can be viewed and downloaded online at http://portal.gov.uspto.report/external/portal/tow.
GENERAL TRADEMARK INFORMATION: For general information about trademarks, please visit the Office’s website at http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm
FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED EXAMINING ATTORNEY SPECIFIED ABOVE.